


Heartbeat

by Lhea



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 02:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20369221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lhea/pseuds/Lhea
Summary: Small oneshot inspired by some fanart.





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiring tweet: https://twitter.com/bento_yxz/status/1164998493833818112?s=19

“There we are.”

A familiar, cryptic voice rang in Edelgard’s ears. Her eyes shot open. A white, wrinkled, withered visage greeted her. Beady coal eyes dotting its surface cut through her and looked at her soul.

“Forgive me, my little Princess,” the man muttered, his tongue slithering out to lick his lips. “But we are not quite done with you yet.” He turned his eyes down across her pale frame.

She followed his gaze. A tiny blade hovered just over her bare chest. Her breath quickened, and she struggled to pull her limbs free only to find them restrained. She opened her mouth to scream.

He was ready. A wave of his hand and an ounce of magic forced her lips shut. “Your Highness must learn solitude and silence.”

Her pupils narrowed as she looked back at him. Why couldn’t she open her mouth? She shook her head violently.

“Patience. It will be over sooner than you think.”

The scalpel sunk into her skin. Edelgard felt a sharp pain in her chest.

It bit deep into her, spreading white hot across her breasts and down into her gut. The burning numbness pressed out to her neck, to her arms and hands, to her legs and feet.

She winced, teetering on the edge between lucidity and unconsciousness spurred by the shock. The urge to scream overwhelmed her. Her lips curled and contorted in agony, but the curse glued them shut. Blackness engulfed her vision.

* * *

Edelgard shot up from her bed, panting. Cold beads of sweat fell down her face and neck. Her pulse beat frantically, as if her heart wanted to leap out of her chest. Slowly, her vision started to come back. The homely sights of the empress’s bedroom greeted her.

Her eyes flicked about, surveying the room in a panic. _ Just a dream, El, _ she told herself. _ Just another nightmare. _ But her body acted out of instinct, shedding her bedsheets and tossing her legs over the side of the bed. She sat still for a moment before picking herself up.

An uncouth slouch crept into her shoulders. She wandered over to a window.

The stars twinkled in a cloudless sky. A crescent moon hung peacefully among them.

She sighed. “Yes,” she muttered, holding her forehead in one hand. “Just another nightmare.”

Drawing back, she held that hand in front of her face, suspending it in a beam of moonlight that shone through her window. Her eyes drifted along the scars that hugged her arms. The pain lingered as if it had happened yesterday. It slithered down her arm, pricking at her skin like a thousand tiny bolts of lightning slowly frying the flesh. Her free hand snapped over her midsection with a clap against her burning arm. All ten of her nails dug deep, and she sucked in air through her clenched jaw.

Then, as quickly as it came, the pain passed.

Another gasp barely broke the silence of the night. Shaking her head, she banished the thought from her mind. She looked over her shoulder, to the other side of her bed.

Byleth lay still on her side, undisturbed from Edelgard’s restlessness. Stray clumps of hair lay loosely across her face. Her chest rose and fell with soft breaths.

Edelgard returned to their bed. Still hot, she neglected to draw the sheets back over her body. 

Yet despite the heat, in her desperation for comfort, she pulled herself close to her wife. She nudged her head against Byleth’s chest as best as she could.

Byleth finally stirred. “...El?” she grumbled.

Edelgard tugged her close. “Nightmare,” she whispered, searching for the feeling of a thumping heart. Finally, she found it. Its presence soothed her. She flashed back to the moment that she felt most alone. When she almost believed that she had lost her teacher - her lover, not once but twice. The memory, however, did not remain for long, disappearing as swiftly as the phantom pains from before.

Even in her groggy state, Byleth understood. She laid her chin on the top of Edelgard’s head. “It’s okay. I’m here.” One free hand reached for the small of her wife’s back, tracing along the scarred skin with a delicate touch.

Edelgard reeled for a moment and tightened her jaw to stifle a gasp. Byleth pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry…,” she muttered. “Should I stop?”

The empress shook her head. “Just… careful. You know it’s tender.”

Byleth nodded. “Hey, El,” she whispered. “Look at me?”

A shiver ran down Edelgard’s spine, as it always did whenever she called her by that name. She turned her chin up. A familiar pair of sapphire eyes glimmered in the faint midnight moon. Byleth ran a hand across her cheek, brushing loose strands of hair away and stroking it with her thumb. The smile drawn across her lips drew one from Edelgard.

“...feel better?” she whispered.

Edelgard’s cheeks flushed. “You’re ridiculous.”

Byleth snickered. “But do you?”

Edelgard averted her eyes. “A little bit.”

Her cheeks flushed again as Byleth’s lips met her forehead. “That’s what I thought.”

Edelgard lifted her head further, pulling her wife away from her forehead. “My lips are down here.”

“Far be it from me to deny that.”

A heavy sigh left Edelgard’s lungs when their lips met. Neither of them moved beyond a tight tug of each others’ bodies closer together. Electricity fired through Edelgard’s body, but very differently from before. Where once she felt pain, now she felt a comfortable wave of numbness.

They parted. “Okay,” Edelgard whispered. “I feel better now.”

Byleth smiled and pecked the woman’s forehead again. “Good.”

“But.” She slinked down and pressed her face back where it once rested, next to her lover’s heart. “I’m spending the night right here.”

Byleth nodded and tucked her wife’s head under her chin once more.

Edelgard searched for the thuds again. A little to the left… no, the other left. Up a bit, too. ...There. She listened to the soft thumps of Byleth’s heart pound against her ears like a soft symphony. Minutes passed. An hour? She couldn’t tell, nor did she care. However long she needed to feel completely comfortable again, until weariness finally took hold of her and guided her back to sleep.


End file.
